Zohran Mamdani’s handling of protest outside synagogue further worries NYC Jewish leaders

By Eric Levenson, CNN

New York (CNN) — A pro-Palestinian protest outside a New York City synagogue last week has sparked accusations of antisemitism and underscored the balancing act Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani faces on Israel.

The debate stems from a November 19 event at Park East Synagogue, a modern orthodox congregation on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The synagogue hosted an event for Nefesh B’Nefesh, a nonprofit that works to facilitate and support North American Jews moving to Israel.

The group Palestinian Assembly for Liberation-AWDA NY/NJ organized a protest at the synagogue in opposition. “No settlers on stolen land,” the group wrote in a flyer. “Protest the settler recruiting fair.”

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags just steps outside of the synagogue. The group chanted slogans including “Death to the IDF,” or Israel Defense Forces, and “globalize the intifada,” an Arabic term for rebellion and a reference to Palestinian uprisings around the turn of the century.

Mamdani’s transition team is still grappling with the protest and its inflammatory slogans a week later. Several prominent Jewish leaders in New York have argued the event showed why they are worried about Mamdani, a prominent critic of the Israeli government who will become the city’s first Muslim mayor when he takes office on January 1.

Mamdani issued a 50-word statement after the protest that “discouraged the language used” by the protesters. But then he notably criticized the synagogue for hosting the event in the first place.

“He believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation,” Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec said, “and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.”

A spokesperson said that final phrase of a “violation of international law” was a reference to promotion of settlements beyond the Green Line, the armistice boundary cutting through Jerusalem that separates Israel from the West Bank, which Israel captured in 1967 and where Palestinians hope to create a future state.

Rabbi Ari Berman, the president of Yeshiva University, said Mamdani’s criticism of the Nefesh B’Nefesh event was “irresponsible and inflammatory,” and contrary to his own agenda.

“He says his sole focus is New York City, and he’s now weighing in on foreign policy, which is the purview of the United States government,” Berman said.

“The mayor-elect invokes international law a lot when he discriminates against Jews,” he added.

Mamdani’s positions on Israel and Jews

Many Jews in New York were skeptical of Mamdani before he won the November 4 election, particularly for his longstanding criticisms of Israel. Mamdani has refused to say Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state, arguing it should instead exist as a state providing equal rights, and called its conduct of the war in Gaza following the October 7 attacks a genocide.

He had previously refused to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” although he more recently said he would discourage the use of the phrase. He has also pledged to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a warrant from the International Criminal Court, even though the US is not a member of the court.

But Mamdani also met with Jewish groups and leaders during the campaign, reassuring them that he would provide security at synagogues and pro-Israel gatherings as requested. He told one gathering that he didn’t care if his future sanitation commissioner disagreed with him about Israel.

“I look forward to being the mayor for every person that calls this city home, that includes the Jewish New Yorkers that voted for our campaign and those that didn’t,” he told reporters after his election.

Still, preliminary CNN exit polls found about 64% of Jewish voters cast their ballot for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent, while about one-third voted for Mamdani. That was particularly notable given New York’s Jewish community in general supports progressive policies but expressed wariness of Mamdani’s history of anti-Israel activism.

Mamdani was asked about the synagogue protest at the very end of his high-profile meeting with President Donald Trump on Friday.

“I care very deeply about Jewish safety, and I look forward to rooting out antisemitism across the five boroughs and protecting Jewish New Yorkers and every New Yorker who calls the city home, he said.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is Jewish, agreed to stay on under Mamdani in what was seen as a reassuring sign for Jewish residents. On Saturday, Tisch attended Shabbat services at Park East Synagogue and delivered a message of support and understanding, said Benny Rogosnitzky, the synagogue’s cantor.

She spoke about the NYPD’s commitment to keeping the institution safe and the need to allow both freedom of religion and the right to protest.

Tisch told the congregation that “she will make sure for the future, while allowing protests, that we will do it in a manner that doesn’t cause the membership and parents of the school and other New Yorkers who came past to feel intimidated,” Rogosnitzky said.

“You deserved an NYPD posture that recognized the sensitivity of this location, the climate we’re living in, and the heightened fear within our community,” she said, according to The Times of Israel. “Instead, you had turmoil.”

How others Jewish groups reacted

Several Democratic political leaders criticized the protest for its location outside the synagogue and the inflammatory language used. Gov. Kathy Hochul said the demonstration was “shameful and a blatant attack on the Jewish community,” and outgoing Mayor Eric Adams said it was “antisemitic.”

Mamdani’s statement on the protest drew criticism from some Jewish advocacy groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, which recently launched a “Mamdani Monitor” to track his policies and appointments.

“Rather than fulfill his pledge to protect all Jewish New Yorkers, the Mayor-elect’s comments today contribute to an already hostile environment for the Jewish community by refusing to denounce last night’s blatantly antisemitic harassment and intimidation,” the ADL said.

Rogosnitzky told CNN the location and intensity of the protest came as an unwelcome surprise.

“It was actually very scary to see what went on,” he said. “The people that were coming in to services or to the event felt intimidated.”

Berman, the president of Yeshiva University, told CNN it was “deeply disturbing” to see the protest right outside a house of worship.

“Like all people in New York City, to have access to your house of worship in a clear and untroubled way is something that we would expect, and seeing otherwise is certainly disturbing,” he said.

Jamie Beran, the CEO of the progressive Jewish group Bend the Arc, issued a statement defending the intent of the protest and noting that protesting outside of a house of worship “is not in and of itself an inherent problem.”

“When a protest includes calls for violence and fuels antisemitism, that is unacceptable, and it damages the cause itself,” Beran said. “There was threatening language used by some of the protestors that clearly inflamed already existing Jewish fears, and shouting death threats outside a synagogue does fuel antisemitism, even if that was not the intent of the protest’s organizers.”

Beran noted that Bend the Arc had endorsed Mamdani due to his policy platform and his promises to protect “all New Yorkers, including Jews explicitly.”

“That’s the job New Yorkers elected him to do, and we look forward to working with his administration to further those goals,” Beran said.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.